Labor & Employment (Workers' Compensation)

passed · Virginia · House of Delegates Mar 9, 2026

HB 944: Workplace violence; policy required for certain employers, civil penalty, delayed effective date.

Workplace violence policy required for certain employers; civil penalty. Requires any employer of 100 or more employees to develop, implement, and maintain a workplace violence policy no later than January 1, 2027. The bill includes requirements for such a policy, such as procedures and methods for employee reporting of incidents and post-incident investigations. Employers subject to the bill are required to maintain documentation of workplace violence incidents for not less than five years. An employer that violates the provisions of the bill shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 per violation. The bill prohibits retaliation from an employer on the basis of reporting a workplace violence incident and provides that any employee who makes a report of workplace violence shall be immune from civil liability. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentMandates workplace violence policies for large employers, requiring safety procedures and incident documentation, directly enhancing worker safety protections.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Labor Standards Workers' Compensation Workplace Safety

Track

signed · Virginia · House of Delegates Apr 13, 2026

HB 426: Workers' compensation; employer's offset in event of recovery.

Workers' compensation; employer's offset in event of recovery. Amends provisions related to an employer's offset for recovery in certain actions brought under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. The bill requires that lifetime medical award benefits and ongoing indemnity award benefits shall remain in full force and effect if the claimant is under such an award at the time that recovery is effected, subject to the employer offset provisions. Under the bill, an employer's credit shall be applied as a continuing, pro rata reduction to benefits otherwise payable under an existing award until the employer's required credit is exhausted. The bill also removes language limiting an employee's entitlement to compensation and expenses for medical, surgical, and hospital attention and funeral expenses.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill ensures ongoing medical benefits for workers' comp claimants remain intact during third-party recovery, protecting healthcare access and preventing benefit reduction.90% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentEnsures workers' compensation benefits remain fully effective despite employer recovery offsets, protecting claimant entitlements under Virginia Workers' Compensation Act.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Hospitals Substance Abuse Workers' Compensation

signed · Virginia · Senate Apr 13, 2026

SB 771: Workers' compensation; burial expenses, annual adjustment.

Workers' compensation; burial expenses; annual adjustment. Increases from $10,000 to $15,000 the amount required to be paid by an employer under workers' compensation provisions for burial expenses. The bill directs the Commissioner of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission to adjust the amount of burial expenses and reasonable transportation expenses required to be paid by an employer by a percentage equivalent to the percentage increase of the United States Average Consumer Price Index published by the U.S. Department of Labor beginning January 1, 2028, and annually thereafter.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentIncreases workers' compensation burial benefits from $10k to $15k, strengthening financial protection for workers' families under labor benefits.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Workers' Compensation

in committee · Virginia · House of Delegates Feb 18, 2026

HB 130: Workers' compensation; presumption of certain cancers, sheriffs and deputy sheriffs.

Workers' compensation; presumption for certain cancers; sheriffs and deputy sheriffs. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include sheriffs or deputy sheriffs.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareExpands workers' compensation presumption for work-related cancer, ensuring coverage for sheriffs/deputies without proving causation, strengthening healthcare access for affected workers.85% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentExpands workers' compensation presumption for sheriffs/deputies with certain cancers, strengthening benefits for covered workers.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Workers' Compensation

Track

signed · Virginia · House of Delegates Apr 8, 2026

HB 1313: Workers' compensation; law-enforcement officers and firefighters, post-traumatic stress disorder.

Workers' compensation. Provides that, for the purposes of workers' compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder incurred by a law-enforcement officer or firefighter, an incident or exposure without any accompanying physical injury occurring in the line of duty on or after January 1, 2027, is a qualifying event, as defined in the bill. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Topics ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareExpands workers' compensation coverage for mental health conditions (PTSD, anxiety, depression) in first responders, strengthening access to healthcare for job-related mental health exacerbations.95% confidence ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentExpands workers' compensation benefits for law-enforcement/firefighters with work-exacerbated mental health conditions, strengthening protections under Labor & Employment.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Workers' Compensation

in committee · Virginia · House of Delegates Feb 16, 2026

HB 406: Workers' compensation; disability of law-enforcement officer, spousal wage replacement, report.

Workers' compensation; disability of law-enforcement officer; spousal wage replacement; report. Requires the employer of a law-enforcement officer who sustains a line of duty injury, as defined in the bill, to pay or cause to be paid to the spouse of such law-enforcement officer 66 percent of such spouse's average weekly wage during the previous three years, up to 80 percent of the average weekly wage of the Commonwealth, provided that certain requirements are met. The bill directs the Workers' Compensation Commission to establish an application review process for claims for spousal wage replacement pursuant to the bill's provisions by January 1, 2027. Certain provisions of the bill have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentRequires spousal wage replacement for law-enforcement officers with line-of-duty injuries, expanding worker benefits and financial protection during disability.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Workers' Compensation

Track

passed · Virginia · House of Delegates Mar 4, 2026

HB 865: Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain cancers.

Workers' compensation; presumption of compensability for certain cancers. Expands the workers' compensation presumption of compensability for certain cancers causing the death or disability of certain employees who have completed five years of service in their position to include lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for any individual diagnosed with such a condition on or after July 1, 2027.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentExpands workers' compensation benefits by presuming workplace causation for lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, easing claims for affected workers.85% confidence

Sub-Topics Workers' Compensation

Track

signed · Virginia · Senate Apr 13, 2026

SB 759: Unemployment benefits; increase weekly benefit amount.

Unemployment benefits; increase weekly benefit amount. Provides that, for unemployment compensation claims effective on or after July 1, 2026, an eligible individual's weekly benefit amount shall be $48 higher than the current weekly benefit amount, as denoted in the table in the printed bill. This bill is identical to HB 1320.

Topics ✓ Labor & EmploymentSupports Labor & EmploymentIncreases weekly unemployment benefits by $48, directly expanding worker financial support during unemployment.95% confidence

Sub-Topics Unemployment Workers' Compensation